Northolt High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Northolt High School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their diverse and welcoming school. They make use of the extensive green space and regular opportunities for sport this provides. Pupils are taught how to stay safe, including when online.

Pupils, and students in the sixth form, are kept safe. They behave well and get along with each other. Bullying is rare.

Pupils know who to speak to if they have concerns and feel that staff are always ready to listen.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have opportuniti...es to take part in the full life of the school. For example, pupils can develop their interests through the range of clubs on offer, including badminton, origami and film club.

Pupils can enhance their leadership skills by contributing to the school community, for example as members of the student council or as reading buddies. Pupils across the school fundraise for and host an annual senior citizens' lunch at the school.

The school has high expectations of pupils.

Typically, pupils produce work of high quality across the curriculum. While published outcomes are low, the school is working effectively to improve these for all pupils over time.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school's curriculum has undergone significant change in recent years to ensure that all pupils access a broad range of subjects throughout Years 7 to 9.

The school is working to sustainably increase pupils' uptake of the English Baccalaureate in key stage 4. Leaders have prioritised securing the foundational knowledge and skills for pupils who are new to the school, including those who speak English as an additional language, so they can fully access the wider curriculum. The school has put appropriate support in place for pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read.

Typically, pupils are supported in lessons to establish the foundational knowledge and skills in subjects. For example, in geography, the curriculum begins with map skills so pupils can accurately use locational vocabulary for local and national contexts. This means they have a secure understanding when comparing the UK with a more developing country.

However, in some lessons, teachers do not promote sufficient discussion and rehearsal of ideas and check what pupils know and can do. This means that some pupils do not have the knowledge and skills needed to complete the work successfully. This makes it difficult for pupils to move through the curriculum at the appropriate pace and to build their understanding over time.

The school has adopted new policies for behaviour. Pupils typically behave well in lessons. During informal times, some pupils need reminders and are supported to follow the new rules.

Staff and pupils are aware of the routines, and these are implemented with increasing success. Currently, attendance is low and persistent absence is high. Improving this is a high priority for the school.

The school works with pupils and their families to review the causes of absence, identify patterns and sustainably improve attendance over time.

Leaders identify and plan for pupils with SEND appropriately. They engage with external agencies and think carefully about how pupils transition to their next stages.

Staff are appropriately trained to make adaptations for pupils when they are needed. The school's wider work of curriculum and assessment review has specifically focused on how to best meet the needs of pupils with SEND. The school works with families of pupils with SEND to ensure they attend more regularly.

Pupils' wider personal development is well considered. Pupils learn how to stay healthy and how to be active citizens. Staff give pupils information to help prepare them for study and work beyond school.

For example, pupils are supported with weekly careers updates in tutor sessions that introduce them to different types of work and study programmes. Students in the sixth form, for example, have bespoke programmes and are provided with biographies that link to their future career and study interests.

Staff feel that leaders are considerate of their well-being.

Leaders and those responsible for governance recognise that recent policy changes have increased the workload for some staff. They have made adjustments to support staff in managing this. Governors are suitably informed of the work of the school and fulfil their statutory duties.

Leaders have appropriate development plans in place to improve the standards of education pupils receive so that their successes are reflected in national assessments.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's attendance and persistent absence figures are not meeting national expectations.

This means that some pupils, including pupils with SEND, are missing too much school and not making as much progress as they might. The school should continue to work with pupils and their families to ensure that pupils attend well and on time. ? The curriculum and teaching approaches are at the early stages of implementation.

This means that, in some subjects, teachers do not routinely promote appropriate discussion about the subject matter, systematically check for understanding and adjust teaching effectively. As a result, some pupils, including pupils with SEND and new arrivals, have misconceptions that are not addressed swiftly enough. The school should continue to implement teaching and assessment training so that staff are using agreed approaches.

• At times, the curriculum is not pitched appropriately based on what pupils know and can do towards ambitious end points. This makes it difficult for pupils to move through the curriculum at the appropriate pace and build their understanding over time. Leaders and those responsible for governance should continue to review how effectively the curriculum has been implemented to assure themselves of the standards pupils attain over time.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in July 2015.